Stop Talking In Slogans

People are behaving badly and have been on both "sides" of the whatever for 20+ years. During the Reagan administration there at least seemed to be more unity and cohesion. Politics have become too personal for people. We can't agree that someone may not be the best for a job or a (insert whatever justifiable/provable label) proven criminal without that “side” acting personally persecuted or that their beliefs/rights/morals are being attacked. The two sides (liberals and conservatives) are talking in slogans (“love conquers hate”, “one man, one woman”) instead of having real dialogue about issues, problems, and “sides”. And yes, both sides have acted out depending on which alternate side is in power at the time. The media is filled with “haters” and “trolls” who accentuate all of this. So why are we playing on these platforms, only dividing us more?

Buying a ticket and taking a seat to a circus of clowns doesn’t mean you get input on the show. If you want real change, real progress – start by reserving comment and not reacting every time a politician takes a shit on a media platform.

Give Peace, Prosperity, and Positivity the same attention given to Politics, Power, and Protest.

Then, what stands to win? 

Working with the GLBT Population

WWJD

What Would Jesus Do?

If he were still standing in the Middle East -

Would he pick up a gun and fight for freedom?

Or would he reach out his hand, his arms - To the wounded, to the gun holder?

 

If one of his people, a brother, a child was wrongfully murdered –

Would he loot and incite violence?

Or would he try to understand the fear that took over another to the point of destruction?

 

If he were on the capitol steps while same-sex partners marry –

Would he read from the bible? Weep in disgust and disappointment?

Or would he greet the protester across the street and talk about limitless love?

 

Homophobia is a Human Affliction

The War on Domestic Terrorism

Any war fought for the freedom of their own is fought on home soil. The battles fought for my freedom (freedom to choose whom I marry for example) are fought by activists and advocates up against shame, fear, and ignorance that can often be far more threatening than that of death.

Terrorism? It happens in our classrooms, places of work, on the street – through harassment, fear tactics, and discrimination. Drop the gun, close the fist, and lend an open heart if you wanna fight the war on terror.

Diverse Relationships Are Noted in the Bible

"It is obvious to scholars (and some religious leaders) that the Bible endorses a wide range of relationships. However, professors are fearful of the potential backlash that might result from opening a dialogue about these relationships."

The Bible's definition of marriage is not so simple

Hope for the Future of America

Do you have healthcare coverage? Do you have a job? Do you pay out of your own pocket for your college? Or do you not? When are you ever told no? What can you control and what can you not?

Do you save on healthcare coverage because you are on your spouse’s plan instead of your own? Can you comfortably put up pictures of your family at work and share what your family did over the weekend without hesitation? Does your income/family/background determine whether you can get a higher education? Do you feel like you are a part of America? Do you feel that you are an American and when wars are fought, lives are lost --- they are for you and your freedom? Or do you not?

Higher taxes, unemployment, and affordable healthcare --- to some, a luxury to worry about. What if you had to worry that your country will have a leader who does not approve of you or your life? You worry because you know such a mentality is extremely influential. You apply for a job, but your mannerisms make the potential boss uncomfortable. You have health insurance, but you’re not permitted in the room because you’re not considered a relative.

If you were a minority, and if your personal safety was a greater concern than HMOs and PPOs, if every election year you stressed about the possibility of your civil rights being decreased, if you were told NO --- You would understand that EQUALITY and FREEDOM are taken for granted by those who have it and you wouldn’t worry so much about MONEY.

You’re a fairly intelligent person and you know that the gay can’t be prayed away. Now imagine your 13 year old child struggles, but ultimately tells you that they are gay. Think about this. Now ask yourself, what is most important in our future?

The right to murder and be murdered comes before the right to celebrate love. Progress? History repeats itself with making war a priority.

Robert Byrd on Civil Rights:Homosexuality is a sin; no gays in military

Mainstreaming of Gay Culture

In the last two decades, there has been a blending of straight and gay culture giving birth to terms like "metrosexual". But, these "metrosexuals' like Bradley Cooper can still drop the F bomb a number of times (in character of course) in widely popular and heavily quoted films like "The Hangover". What message does a movie like this send?

One day our "pride parades" may no longer be necessary as we blend more and more into the "norm" with equal rights. Living the heterosexual lifestyle with marriage, kids, and the suburbs – oh my! Our clubs, the underground nature of our lifestyle, and the thrill secrecy and living in shadows provides will all vanish. What unity will we have within our community if we no longer have the exclusivity?

Gay writer Edmund White states that "before homosexuality became so public, so vocal, so politicized there was a lot more casual action than there is now. And other notable figures agree that the bringing of gay life and its culture to the mainstream has been a dilution."
A local gay pride organization was flattered that their rainbow flag was in the back of parade celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr. and his civil rights efforts. I said, "What are we taking a backseat now?" – Half joking of course.

"Not at all. This was a march honoring Dr. King. It was important for our community to show respect to those who fought discrimination. This march was not about our fight but to give thanks and to honor the civil rights movement and its leaders." – Was their response.
Interesting choice of words. "The civil rights movement" is our own. Racism still exists, but civil rights -- we are the only US born citizens being deprived of them. Honor is one thing; celebration when atrocities still occur is odd. MLK's speech and dreams about "all men being created equal" may indicate that we should be fighting the fight. Drawing comparisons between our current struggle and the civil rights movement of then – well isn't such an event the perfect stage? There is much more to accomplish. How can we celebrate as if discrimination is over? And why should we commend the civil rights victories of groups who often oppose us?
We have accepted little "acceptance" and our too easily flattered by minimal tolerance. It often feels as if even our most powerful allies and advocates are willing to say "Thank you for not spitting in my face for being different than you".

Lt. Dan Choi, Iraq combat veteran and Arabic linguist, was discharged under DADT. He had the following to say to Newsweek after he was arrested at the White House gates and spent the night in jail for a protest.

"Within the gay community so many leaders want acceptance from polite society. I think there's been a betrayal of what is down inside of us in order to achieve what looks popular, what looks enviable. The movement seems to be centered around how to become an elite. There is a deep schism [in the gay-rights movement], everyone knows this. But this shouldn't be about which group has better branding. There is a tremor right now in every gay and transgender youth that these groups are not grasping. I would say to them—you do not represent us if all you are looking for is a ladder in to elite society. Ghandi did not need three-course dinners and a cocktail party to get his message out."

"When I heard Kathy Griffin was going to be a spokeswoman for Don't Ask, Don't Tell, I wondered about that. I have great respect for her as an advocate. But if [the Human Rights Campaign] thinks that having a rally at Freedom Plaza with a comedian is the right approach, I have to wonder. Don't Ask, Don't Tell is not a joking matter to me. To be at Freedom Plaza and not at the White House or Congress? Who are they trying to influence? I felt like they were just trying to speak to themselves. If that's the best the lobbying groups and HRC can do, then I don't know how these powerful groups are supposed to represent our community. Kathy Griffin and [HRC president] Jay Solmonese said they would march with me to the White House but didn’t. I feel so betrayed by them."

Furthermore, are we conceding to an acceptance of how we can be more like heterosexuals? We are not really demanding acceptance of who we are but rather how we can be like them.

Heterosexual Marriage

The truth is that marriage is unnatural. It was created by religion, women, and unattractive men who couldn't get laid otherwise. Men do not choose marriage. Men do not truly want to be married. Men are not by nature monogamous. Man is a wild animal just like any other who does not respond well to captivity. Marriage is his cage. Heterosexual men either envy or loathe gay men. Straight male friends of gay men live vicariously through them. Begging to hear their stories and imagining their own fantasies. Dreaming of freedom. The straight men who hate gay men (homophobes) are diseased with bitter jealousy. Often times they do not realize and cannot articulate this feeling. Envy not the sanctity of marriage. This is a trap of convention we have so far, been able to dodge.

Gay Marriage Denied

    The conservative right's ads targeting fearful parents about how their children will somehow be preyed upon with homosexuality shoved down their throats in schools was credited as being a major factor in losses to the gay marriage battles in Maine and California. As if they can pretend we don't exist. As if not legally being able to couple will discourage nature calling. Our visibility will not change.
    So kids aren't taught about us. It won't prevent anyone from being gay. Imagine children growing up to discover different people - shocked to realize they've been in a dark cave of unawareness. That's right, teach your children to not take a bite from the knowledge tree. Oh wait, are we still talking about public schools?
    We must counteract these stupid notions by making ourselves more known. So that they will realize their kids are gonna learn about us one way or another. And by knowing us, they will know the truth.

The Civil War on Civil Rights: The Gay Marriage Battle

Many people feel the sanctity of marriage is threatened by the allowance of same-sex couples to legally marry. Our nation is engaging in a civil war over the definition of marriage. It seems that most heterosexual people think civil unions between same-sex couples would serve the purpose. However, the truth is that the mere word "marriage" encompasses so much more than present day civil unions do. Marriage and civil unions are quite different. Civil unions offer in many cases simply a ceremony while others offer a few benefits from the state in which they are performed. Meanwhile, marriage provides many state, federal, and health benefits along with global recognition. The legal right to marry is a civil right not just a heterosexual right.
Civil unions are like second-rate marriages for second-class citizens. There are an estimated 1,100 federal rights, benefits, tax breaks, protections, and privileges awarded to heterosexual couples instantly and simply with marital status. Civil unions legally unite same-sex couples sometimes granting a few legal benefits that vary in the few states that recognize them. In some instances, adoption is possible for same-sex couples who have had a civil union as it is for married couples. Some employers in states that recognize this union offer health and life insurance to the partner. One of the problems with this relatively new concept is that it can confuse those who may have to interpret it. Employers don't have to offer domestic partnership, as it is often called, benefits. For example, without the terminology in place employers can stick to the spouse and dependants only discounts for health insurance. In the instance of a health- related emergency, a hospital's staff does not have to acknowledge the domestic partner in regards to care for the patient. A family member can walk in and overturn crucial decisions made by the partner that were more than likely based on the patient's wishes. Same-sex couples can go to an attorney for substantial fees to set-up a few legal contracts between them such as wills and powers-of-attorney. However, those contracts can be overruled in court to a blood relative's favor. This, therefore, is discrimination.
A vote on civil rights is unconstitutional. In California, Proposition 8 was passed, legally banning gay marriage in the state. This came after a summer of love in which many same-sex couples were able to marry due to a California Supreme Court ruling. There was a very deceitful ad campaign by the Proposition 8 proponents implying that children's lives will somehow be ruined if gay marriage prevails and children are forced to be raised in a society that permits and teaches the acknowledgement and acceptance of same-sex couples. Proposition 8 is so ironic. Does it really seem constitutional to allow people to vote on the civil rights and liberties of a persecuted minority? Section 1 of the Fourteenth Amendment states as follows, "All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." Reflecting on this, in an interracial marriage case, Loving vs. Virginia, the Supreme Court ruled on June 12, 1967,
"The freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men. Marriage is one of the ‘basic civil rights of man,’ fundamental to our very existence and survival." The language used here is universal and spans the human race. The majority won in the case of Proposition 8. Are we really surprised? But on a national level, are there not more important things our voices should be heard for? How about we vote on war, bailouts, and other things that in some way affect us all instead of depriving a group of people something that no one else will lose. Does it make sense to vote on women's rights related to abortion?

Marriage means different things to different people. To many, marriage is a religious act, a union recognized by God. But, are all opposite-sex marriages truly recognized by God? In fact, marriage is so much more than just a religious, cultural, or a legal term. For gay couples, marriage is about social recognition and more importantly to be treated fairly by law. Included in the 1,100 federal rights, benefits, protections, and privileges married couples enjoy are Social Security benefits, veterans' benefits, health insurance, Medicaid, hospital visitation, estate taxes, retirement savings, pensions, family leave, and immigration law. Couples in a civil union cannot obtain many of these according to the way civil unions are presently defined.
Gays do not wish to "redefine marriage." Gay couples want to no longer be treated like second-class citizens who pay the same amount of taxes without having the breaks and protections that marriage provides. Civil unions mean separate and still not equal.